Bristle teaseling device



p 3, 1963 F. c. HAYES 3,102,320

BRISTLE TEASELING DEVICE Filed Nov. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 & g

2 2 INVENTOR. FRAMI C. HAYES p, a 4 1 PM AT T ORNEYS Sept. 3, 1963 F. c. HAYES 3,102,320

BRISTLE TEASELING DEVICE Filed Nov. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

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I I b INVENTOR. FRANZ! c. HAYES BY PM PM ATTORNE YS' United States Patent Oflice 3,102,320 Patented Sept. 3, 1963 3,102,320 BRISTLE TEASELING DEVICE Frank C. Hayes, Pelham, N.H., assignor to Edward F. Hayes, Pelham, N.H. Filed Nov. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 855,731 10 Claims. (Cl. 26-31) This invention relates to an artificial, tufted member for raising fibres in fibrous textile material. It especially relates to an artificial tufted member intended to take the place of teasels to thereby produce textile fabric at lower cost, and with equal, or better feel.

It has heretofore been proposed, as in U.S. Patent 2,594,886 to Dunn, issued April 29, 1952, to provide a gigging or teaseling member having relatively stifi", flexible bristles of nylon mounted on a slat back and adapted to be mounted in the standard teaseling gig. The use of teasels in the textile art, the need for a satisfactory substitute and the desirable characteristics of such a substitute are stated in detail in the patent. It should also be noted that while there have been many proposed substitutes for the teasel, as far as I am aware napping, gigging and teaseling is still conducted in most textile plants by means of teascls.

In seeking to approximate the effect of the spines of teasel burrs on cloth, it is not enough to merely provide a bristled, brush-like face on the slat of a gigging machine whether that surface is formed by abrasive particles, wire card clothing, rubber fingers, spaced apart hooked wires or straight nylon bristles because these expedients used in prior art still do not produce the quality of nap achieved since antiquity by the teasel. Something more is apparently required for a successful artificial teasel perhaps explaining why the solutions proposed in the past have not come into general use or, in fact, into any appreciable use.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide an artificial, tease] type, fibre raising member wherein the bristles are of elongated, resilient, fiexible nylon preformed into a curve and all of the same length, the bristles being tightly packed and having axially extending sharp points free to independently and gently raise fibres in the fabric engaged thereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine for raising fibres in fibrous textile fabric wherein the fibre raising member is covered with close packed clusters of curved heat set, nylon bristles of identical length and resiliency, and the fabric is yieldably engaged with the entire cluster of sharp pointed tips of the bristles whereby the bristles are straightened out and then gradually resiliently released while gently raising fibres from the Weave of the fabric.

A further object of the invention is to provide an artificial, fibre raising member having identical nylon bristles initially forming tufts normal to a backing, then slid into a jig or form of less height to uniformly curve the tufts and finaliy preformed by heat into a curved configuration, the curve being progressively greater near the sharp pointed bristle tips thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the claims, the description of the drawing and from the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, end view, showing a gigging machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary, end view, in section, of the fibre raising member of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a still further enlarged, diagrammatic end, sectional view showing the resilient fibre raising action of the curved bristles of the invention.

FEG. 5 is a diagrammatic end view, in section, showing the method step of uniformly curving the tufts of nylon bristles angularly by means of a jig or form.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the method step of curving the bristles uniformly in an axial direction by means of a jig or form.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the curved configuration of the nylon bristles being preformed by heat setting in an oven while the member is confined in the jig or form.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic View showing a tubular fibre raising member inserted into a tubular jig or form to curve the tufts in an axial direction.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing a tubular fibre raising member rotated angularly on its longitudinal axis within a tubular jig, or form, to curve the tufts in an angular direction, and

MG. 10 is a perspective view of a tubular fibre raising member constructed in accordance with the invention and sleeved on a roll, the member being used for brushing fabric.

As shown in the drawing, a typicai gigging machine 20 may be of the one cylinder, four contact type, the surface 21 of the cylinder 22 engaging the fabric 23 in the areas designated 24, 25, 26 and 27 for raising the fibres of the fabric. Suitable contact and carrier rolls such as at 28 and 29 are provided for advancing fabric 23 from bath 31 around cylinder 22 and into bath 32. The cylinder 22 usually is rotated at about rpm. in the direction of the arrows and the fabric 23 is advanced in the direction of the arrows at a lesser speed such as about ten to thirty yards per minute. In the prior art the cylinder 22 has been provided with axially extending slats carrying stationary, or rotatable, teasel burs and it has been customary in gigging to first contact the fabric with used, dulled teasels to gently and gradually raise the fibres without pulling the fibres entirely out of the weave. The fabric is then either reversed in direction, or advanced over other reversely rotating cylinders of a battery until an initial nap is produced. Subsequently newer and sharper teasels are used to bring the nap to the desired standard.

The fibre raising member of this invention may include a slat type backing 33 shown in FIGS. 1-7 and designed to replace the usual tcasel slat or the fibre raising membcr may be a tube 34, shown in FIGS. 8-10, and designed to be sleeved on the cylinder 22 or on a suitable metal roll 35 (FIG. 10).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the slat, or backing 33 is preferably of metal, or plastic, and of arcuate cross section, with a curvature concentric with the cylinder 22, each slat 35 being designed to replace a tcasel slat of a typical gigging machine. A plurality of identical clusters 36 of ciose packed, elongated resilient, identical, nylon bristles 37 are inset in the backing 33 in staggered formation with each successive row 38 offset to fill the gaps in a preceding row 39. If the backing 33 were flat the base portions of each cluster would be normal to the upper face of the slat. However, since the backing is either a segment of a hollow cylinder, or a complete hollow cylinder, or tube, the base portions 41 of each cluster are radially inset into the backing by suitable adhesive 42, heat setting or otherwise all in a manner well known.

The tuft portion 43 of each cluster, extending from the base portion 41 to the tip portion 44, however, is not radial but is preformed into a curve or bow as best shown in FIG. 4. The curved tuft portion 43 does not flare outwardly but is close packed in the tip portion 44 and the bristle tips 45 of each cluster are in a common curvilinear plane concentric with the cyiinder 22. The axially extending bristle tips 45 are sharp and pointed and, as illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 4, all of the bristle tips of each cluster engage the fabric 23 simultaneously but each is free to independently raise one or more fibres. Upon gently engaging a fibre in the cloth the curved, elongated, resilient, nylon bristles 37 tend to straighten out, thereby lengthening and either penetrating further into the weave or pushing the yieldabiy mounted fabric further away from the cylinder 22. Since the bristles are advancing more rapidly than the fabric, the bristles then tend to snap or flick out of the fabric accompanied by one or more fibre ends while resiliently resuming their normal curved, or bowed, configuration. Thus instead of spearing into the fabric with a reinforced single stiff nylon bristle moving more rapidly than the fabric and tending to kick out loose fibre ends somewhat roughly, the curved resilient nylon tufts of this invention operate as a mass of sharp points gently prying their way into the fabric and gradually flicking loose fibre ends out of the weave by their inherent resiliency. An excellent gigging action is thereby achieved which is equal or superior to the action of teasels, considerably more rapid and substantially less in cost.

As shown in FIG. 2, it is preferred that the preformed curve or how in the bristles 37 to be forwardly directed with the tip portion 44 leading the base portion 41 in the direction of rotation of the cylinder 22 and fabric 23. For example, a satisfactory artificial, teasel type, fibre raising member has been found to comprise clusters of bristles of nylon with a denier of five to forty, but preferably about twenty-two, there being about forty bristles closely packed in each cluster with a cluster diameter of about a quarter inch and a tuft length of at least one inch. The preferred curvature has been found to occur when the tip portion 44 is about one quarter inch in lead of the base portion 41 at their respective leading edges, the curve being about as shown in P16. 4 and progressively greater near the tip because of the manner in which it is achieved.

In the method of making the artificial, teasel type, fibre-raising member of this invention a backing of plastic, or metal, such as the slat 33, or the tube 34, is first formed integrally with a plurality of stagger clusters 36 of straight nylon bristles 37 inset radially therein. This step as illustrated in FIG. wherein the slat type backing 50, corresponding to backing 33, includes the radial, upstanding clusters 51 of straight nylon bristles 52. The identical clusters 51 are secured in the backing by their base portions 53, by heat setting, adhesives or any other well known manner and the identical bristles 52 are normal to the adjacent face 54 thereof. The slat 50 being arcuate, or atti-circular, the clusters 51 are radial to the cylinder to be defined by the slat 5t) and the bristle tips 55 are at a predetermined uniform height above the face 54 and closely packed.

In the next step, the backing slat 50 and its upstanding bristles 52 are slid edgewise into a jig having a lesser interior height than the predetermined height of the bristles 52 thereby curving and bowing each cluster 51 into uniform curved configuration. When the desired curved configuration is to be forwardly directed or angular, a jig 56 is used having a bottom wall 57, side wall 58, upper wall 59 and a full length side opening at 60. Jig 56 is coextensive in length with the backing slat 50 and arcuately curved in cross section to conform to the arcuate cross section of slat 5t When it is desired that the clusters 51 and bristles 52 be curved axially, rather than angularly, a jig such as 63 is used having four walls 64, 65, 66, and 67 and opposite end openings such as 63. The backing slat 50 is slid edgewise and endwise into jig 63 to thereby rearwardly bow the clusters 51 while maintaining the tips 55 in the same curvilinear plane (FIG. 6).

The next step in the method is the subjecting of the clusters 51 and bristles 52 to heat while in curved, close packed, formation in a jig such as 56 or 63. This may conveniently be done by placing the jig into an oven 71 shown in FIG. 7. The even may be of any well known type capable of heating the nylon bristles to a temperature sufilcient to heat set the same in their pre-formed curved configuration. Thereafter the jig is removed from the oven and the backing slid out of the jig to be used as the fibre raising member of the invention.

When a preformed curve or bow is desired in the bristles 52 which is neither angular nor axial, but somewhere in between, for example, half way between angular and axial it is only necessary to slide the slat 50 into a jig 56 in a suitable oblique direction and then heat set the bristles in situ. Moving the slut '59 within the jigs 56 and 63 in any of a plurality of directions will produce a plurality of different curved cluster formations, all uniform and suitable for gigging, napping, brushing or other operations heretofore performed by teasel burs or wire card clothing.

The steps of the method of this invention applied to a tube 34 are shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 8 to 10. As shown in FlG. 8 the tube 34 which may be of metal, plastic or other suitable material, is inset with radial clusters 72 of nylon bristles 73, and slid endwisc into a hollow cylindrical jig 74 thereby producing identically curved clusters such as 75, bowed in an axial direction. If an angular curve is desired, the tube 34 is twisted, or turned, angularly within the jig 74 which, of course, is of less interior diameter than the normal exterior diameter of the tips 76 of the clusters 72. The tube 34 is conveniently mounted on a mandrel 77 for ease of handling and the tube 34 in its jig 74 is placed in an oven such as 71 for heat setting the bristles in their pre-formed curved configuration.

A completed tube 34, with pre-formed curved bristles 75 is shown in FIG. 10, mounted on a steel roll 35, the bristles 75 being forwardly curved in the direction of rotation of the roll as well as curved axially to a substantial degree. The fabric 78 is advancing in the direction of the arrows but is supported from underneath by a plate, or rest, 79 so as to be unyieldable when contacted by the bristles. The fibre raising member of this invention has been found to give superior brushing action when so mounted, especially in a shearing operation. The angle, of the bristles in relation to the cloth is critical and instead of dragging the fibres bodily out of the fabric, the roll 34 tends to merely lift up the fibres by one end to permit them to be sheared at a uniform height in subsequent operations.

The bristles used in my new machine are preferably of nylon such as may be commercially secured as monofilament industrial bristle from E. I. du Pont de Nemours Company, Wilmington, Delaware, but they may be of any equivalent synthetic material capable of being heat set into pre-formed, bowed shape. The particular denier used will, of course, vary with the finish and type of fabric being finished and the slats can be alternately fine and coarse denier if desired, a flexibility not usually possible with natural teasels. The bristled members of my machine may be used for brushing purposes, rather than teaseling, and when so used the bristles may be of any suitable synthetic material heat set at the temperature of setting of that material into the desired prc-formed angle or curve. Whether the article is a synthetic teasel slat, or a brush of any type; the essence of the invention is the drilling of straight, round holes in a backing member, the insertion of close packed clusters of heat settable, synthetic bristles and the heat setting of the tufts into a desired angle or curve relative to the base of the tuft and the backing to form a close packed mass of sharp points.

It will be understood that the particular synthetic material uscd for bristles, such as nylon, will have a particular heat setting temperature and that such information is readily available from the manufacturer of the bristles. I have found that nylon bristles as above described if heated at a temperature of about 360 F. for about five minutes, become permanently set in the desired configuration.

I claim:

1. In a machine for raising nap on fibrous textile fabrics, said machine being of the type having a rotating cylindrical support with a surface advancing at a predetermined speed and means for advancing a web of said fabric in contact with said surface and in the same direction but at a lesser predetermined speed the combination of an artificial fibre-raising member forming said surface, said member comprising a plurality of identical, close packed clusters of resilient, nylon bristles secured to a backing detachably mounted on said support, each said cluster having a base portion inset radially into said backing and projecting therefrom in a direction normal to the adjacent face of said backing and having an elongated, close packed, tuft portion pro-formed in a curve directed forwardly relative to the direction of rotation of said support, the tips of each bristle terminating in an axially extending sharp point, the tips of each cluster forming a close packed mass of sharp points all in a common curvilinear plane concentric with said cylindrical support and the tufts equal in length to the bristles at the trailin identically curved with the bristles at the trailing edge of the tufts equal in length to the bristles at the leading edge thereof whereby the points of each cluster are free to independently and simultaneously raise nap on said fabric.

2. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said rotating cylindrical support is a steel roll and said backing is a tube of plastic material sleeved on the said steel roll to rotate therewith.

3. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein the elongated tuft portion of each of said cluster of bristles is preformed into a curve which extends both forwardly and axially relative to said rotating support.

4. A combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said web of fabric is yieldably supported in contact with said member and the bristles in said clusters are greater in length, when straightened, than the normal distance between said backing and said fabric whereby said bristles are released from said fabric by the outward yielding of said fabric together with the inherent resiliency of the bristles.

5. As a new article of manufacture an artificial, teaseltype, fibre raising member, said member comprising a backing body having a plurality of closely packed clusters of close packed resilient nylon bristles of identical length inset therein, the base portions of each said cluster being normal to the adjacent face of said backing body and tuft portions of each said cluster being elongated, close packed and pre-formed uniformly to curve in the same direction and the bristle tips of each said cluster terminating in a close packed mass of sharp points all in a plane parallel to the plane of the adjacent face of said backing body.

6. A combination as specified in claim 5 plus a rigid, unyieldable support mounted at a spaced distance from the plane of said backing body whereby a fabric advancing over said support in contact with the tips of said bristles has the fibres in said fabric lifted up to a substantially vertical position for subsequent shearing thereof.

7. A combination as specified in claim 5 wherein each said tuft portion is about one inch in length and about one quarter inch in diameter and the tips of each said tuft portion are displaced from the base portion thereof about one quarter inch.

8. A combination as specified in claim 5 wherein said backing body is a sleeve of plastic for fitting on the outside of a cylindrical metal roll.

9. A brush comprising a backing member having a plurality of closely spaced straight, round holes in one face thereof, the axis of each hole being normal to said face and a plurality of closely spaced clusters of synthetic monofilament bristles of identical length mounted on said backing, each said cluster having a base portion inset in, and firmly secured in one of said holes with the axis thereof normal to said face and the tuft portions of each said cluster being pie-formed into a predetermined, identical curve, the tip portions of said clusters each terminating in a close packed mass of sharp points offset uniformly from the base portions thereof and all lying in a plane parallel to the plane of the said face of said backing.

it). A combination as specified in claim 5 wherein the curve of the close packed bristles of each said tuft portion is progressively greater near the tip portions thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,468,403 Ross Sept. 18, 1923 2,466,348 Arnbye Apr. 5, 1949 2,594,886 Dunn Apr. 29, 1952 2,634,167 Bible Apr. 7, 1953 2,659,632 Enchelmaier Nov. 17, 1953 2,783,095 Ballard Feb. 26, i957 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,118 Great Britain of 1817 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR RAISING NAP ON FIBROUS TEXTILE FABRICS, SAID MACHINE BEING OF THE TYPE HAVING A ROTATING CYLINDRICAL SUPPORT WITH A SURFACE ADVANCING AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED AND MEANS FOR ADVANCING A WEB OF SAID FABRIC IN CONTACT WITH SAID SURFACE AND IN THE SAME DIRECTION BUT AT A LESSER PREDETERMINED SPEED THE COMBINATION OF AN ARTIFICIAL FIBRE-RAISING MEMBER FORMING SAID SURFACE, SAID MEMBER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF IDENTICAL, CLOSE PACKED CLUSTERS OF RESILIENT, NYLON BRISTLES SECURED TO A BACKING DETACHABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT, EACH SAID CLUSTER HAVING A BASE PORTION INSET RADIALLY INTO SAID BACKING AND PROJECTING THEREFROM IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO THE ADJACENT FACE OF SAID BACKING AND HAVING AN ELONGATED, CLOSE PACKED, TUFT PORTION PRE-FORMED IN A CURVE DIRECTED FORWARDLY RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID SUPPORT, THE TIPS OF EACH BRISTLE TERMINATING IN AN AXIALLY EXTENDING SHARP POINT, THE TIPS OF EACH CLUSTER FORMING A CLOSE PACKED MASS OF SHARP POINTS ALL IN A COMMON CURVI- 